Device for preventing railroad switches from freezing



March 15, 1932. H. MILLER ET AL DEVICE FOR PREVENTING RAILROAD SWITCHES FROM FREEZING Filed Nov. 24, 1930 Jmwlm B. B. B eZiS "4 Henry flz'lle r 1@ I Patented Mar. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT ome HENRY MILLER Ann BENJ MIN BIZBETTSI, or s1: LOUIS, mssonnx DEVICE FOR rnnvnnrmenarnnoanswmonns rnom rnnnzrive Application filed November 2 4, 1930. Serial regime-1..

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 270,982, filed April 18, 1928, for Heating devices for railroad switches, which resulted in Patent No.

The object of the present invention is to provide an extremely simple and rugged heater adapted to be applied to the lower faces of switch rails and interlocking rails and between the ties supporting said rails, for the purpose of preventing the formation of ice or snow between the parts of the switch or interlocking rails which frequently make it impossible to move the switch points.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heater of the type referred to with flanges or guards which are adapted to contact with the bottoms of the switch points in order to maintain a proper distance between the heater and such points and also to form guards to protect the ties on either side of the heater.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the detailed description thereof proceeds.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the switch heater, with parts broken away and shown in sections to illustrate details of construction.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a switch point with a. series of heaters forming the present invention arranged in operative position in contact with the bottoms of said point; and

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the switch, with the heater shown in position between the ties thereof and with their guards in contact with the bottoms of the switch points.

As shown in the drawings, the switch heater comprising the present invention consists of a casing 1 divided into two compartments by a partition 2. The'rear compartment 3 is adapted to receive a heating fluid, preferably a good grade of kerosene with a flash of about 140 degrees. The other compartment 4 is filled with any suitable refractory absorbent material such as asbestos fibre, pumice stone or a mixture of the two. The lower end of the partition 2 is spaced apart from the bottom of the casing 1 to form an aperture 5 through which the liquid fuel may contact with the said absorbent material inorder to be saturated thereby and to be utilized for the purpose of heating the switch points under which the invention may .1

be arranged.

i The casing 1 immediately above the wick compartment 4 is "provided-with an upstandin'g rectangular flange6 adapted to receive a closely fittingcover 7 which may be secured to the top wall of the casing by a chainfor cable 8. The top wall of the casing 1 at its rear end is provided. with a filling aperture formed bya-flange 9 extending upwardly from the'top of said casing; and a tightly fitting cover 10 is adapted to close said aperture and is also secured to the cable 8 in orde to prevent loss thereof.

As shown in Figure 2 the heating aperture 6 is large enough to extend across the bottoms of the switch points even when one of said points is separated from the stock rail. In order to maintain the heating wick properly spaced from the bottom of the switch points, the top of the casing 1 is provided with guard flanges 11 and 12, having their upper edges 13 and 14 adapted'to contact with the bottom of the points and stock rails. These guard flanges also extend lengthwise of the casing and on opposite sides of the heater wick a suflicient length to protect the ties between which the heaters are arranged.

In order to facilitatethe handling of the heaters, the fuel chamber end of the casing 1 is provided with a handle 15 which may be a suitably secured to said end. y y

The present invention is not particularly concerned with the details of construction of the fuel and combustion chambers nor is it concerned with the particular ingredients of v the wick which may be used in the combustion chamber. Primarily the invention resides in the combination with the switch heateras a whole and the points of'the switch and interlocking rails in which combination the guard flanges of the heater serve not only as a gauge to regulate the distance between the bottoms of the switch points and the heating element but also serve as guards to prevent injury to the ties on opposite sides of the switch heater.

While the invention is shown and described in connection with a railroad switch .point it is not necessarily limited to such combinations as it may be used anywhere with similar devices where a definite spacing from the rails to be protected is desired and where lateral protection from the heater is also necessary or desirable.

What we claim is: v V I A railroad switch heater comprising an elongated closed container having a. filler aperture and a burner aperture located at opposite ends of its-top, and guard flanges positioned one on each side of the burner aperture and extending above said top and parallel with the long sides of the container a substantial distance to either side of said burner aperture, said flanges when the heater is in operative position below a switch point being in contact with the bottom of said point and forming a gauge to position the burner aperture at a fixed distance from said bottom and also serving" as guards to prevent access ofthe burner flame to the railroad ties on op osite sides of the heater. I

n testimony whereof we afiix our signatures. v v o HENRY MILLER.

BENJAMIN B. BET'TS. 

